When the Smoke Clears
by RavenousMileena
Summary: It's been many years since the battle of Earthrealm. The Netherrealm has invaded Outworld, leaving the realm partly destroyed. Many survivors, including the Empress of Outworld, injured citizens, and warriors have been sheltered in the Shirai Ryu. Full summary inside. Will be Hanzo x Mileena. Original story on Wattpad!
1. Prologue

**It's been many years since the battle of Earthrealm. The Netherrealm has invaded Outworld, leaving the realm partly destroyed. Many survivors, including the Empress of Outworld, injured citizens, and warriors have been sheltered in the Shirai Ryu temple. The Shirai Ryu have allied with Special Forces to stop the conflict. However, potential dangers for the Empress still linger inside the shelter, making this a bigger threat than anticipated. How will the Empress deal with the destruction of her realm and her betrayers? What about how she feels about living with her father's murders? Will she be able to help clear the smoke or will the smoke consume her? Will be [Hanzo/Scorpion x Mileena] in the future!**

 **Prologue:**

Thousands of Tarkatan soldiers and citizens run through the streets escaping from the Netherealm creatures flying through the skies. They swoop through the crowds to pick their prey and tear them apart in the middle of the streets. If they aren't carried into the air, then they're gutted by the other demons that hide in the shadows. Gore from the victims splatter on the stone streets and blood-curdling screams fill the once peaceful silence. Many soldiers and citizens met the same fate and filled the streets with dead bodies within minutes.

The Empress of Outworld, Mileena paces around her throne room with her hands roughly pulling at her hair. Mileena was unsure of what to do in this situation. She didn't want to leave her people to be killed, but she didn't want to die either.

"Empress we must flee to safety," Ermac spoke from the door with two Tarkatan soldiers behind him.

"They will kill us before we can make it out of the realm." Mileena stops pacing and looks towards him with her arms crossed over her chest. "Where would we even flee to?"

Ermac approaches Mileena with his right hand reaching into his coat pocket. "There is a bomb shelter below the palace. We can stay there until it is safe."

"Very well..." Mileena says, giving in. "Where is Baraka?" She questions with worry in her voice, remembering that Baraka went to lead the army of Tarkata.

"His location is unknown," Ermac responds, extending out his arm to reveal her sais clasped around his fingertips. "Just in case..." Mileena takes the sais from him and strides over to the window for one last glance of her realm.

Flames engulf the streets below her. The firestorms burned the buildings and caused them to collapse, trapping anyone who was below in hot debris. As well as, melt the flesh off of the thousands of dead bodies scattered around the streets. If there are any survivors still out there, Mileena highly doubts they will survive much longer with the creatures still lurking around. Clouds of smoke and dust feel the air making it hard to see out the window. Tears slip out of Mileena's eyes at the sight of her realm being destroyed. Multiple bombs start to detonate around the buildings. One bursts too close to the palace and the sends the energy driving towards Mileena's direction. The energy from the blast causes the window to shatter and sends Mileena flying meters away. The explosion tares apart the marble pillars and walls of the palace. Projectiles and debris start to fly around the room and hit anyone in its path. As well as, the shards of glass cut into Mileena's skin and very few are able to impale her. Clouds of thick smoke fill the room once the force from the explosion subsides.

Mileena's ears and head ring from the high-energy sound waves produced by the explosion. She can feel a scorching pain in her right thigh, her right calf, as well as a severe, ripping pain throughout her body. Not to mention, it is impossible to see and breathe with the thick smoke. The smoke fills Mileena's lungs; she rapidly coughs trying to regain her breath, but it continues to become shorter and inconsistent. Until she feels hands grab at her body and gently carry her away.

"Empress, we are taking you to the bomb shelter so we can safely give you aid. You have been severely burned on your right thigh, a burn on your right calf, you have many shards of glass in your body, and one of your sais have impaled you in your side." Ermac says as him, and the tarkatans carry her through the hallways. Mileena can hear the blasts of more explosives being set off in the background and buildings collapsing. The pain in her calf becomes unbearable which causes her to start crying out in pain. The pain becomes so much that she begins uncontrollably shaking. A Loud, unholy roar and the flapping of wings sound far behind them.

"We need to hustle! I can hear them coming." The tarkatans gently hand Mileena off to Ermac. "Go! Open the bomb shelter!" Ermac demands. They all quickly run down the long spiral stairs case then into a tunnel to reach the door of the bomb shelter. The tarkatans undo the latches and turn the wheel on the large steel door. Once inside the tarkatans lock the door behind them, and Ermac lays Mileena on the small leather sofa.

"I will search for a first aid kit." He examines the contents of the many cabinets along the walls. Mileena looks down at her thigh to see a significant burn. There is damage to all layers of the skin and looks white/ charred colored. She is surprised that she can't feel the pain in her thigh anymore, probably because the nerves and tissue are so damaged. Her calf also has an extensive burn, but is red, splotchy with many blisters, and is throbbing. Ermac returns to Mileena with a wet washcloth, a small first aid kit and kneels down beside her. He places the dripping wet, cold washcloth onto her calf. Mileena winces from the pain but quickly sinks back into the sofa. He reaches into the first aid kit and grabs out a sterile bandage.

"There isn't much I can do for your burns." He says and begins to wrap the bandage around the burn on Mileena's thigh. "You need medical assistance, but this should do for now." After he's done, he removes the wet cloth and begins to wrap the other burn. "Now..." He sighs. "Let's take care of your side..." Mileena looks down at her side to see her sais sticking out of her. She didn't even know it was there.

Mileena lets out a long shaky breath. "It will hurt, but I will pull the sais out of my side then you can cauterize the wound." Mileena says, and Ermac nods his head. Mileena grabs ahold of the sais and grinds down on her teeth. She starts to pull it out of her body while wailing in the process. When it has fully exited her body, she holds her wound and wheezes from the pain. Ermac takes the bloody sais and wipes alcohol on it to sterilize it before heating the tip of with a lighter. He places the metal onto her wound for only one-to -two seconds until the bleeding has stopped.

"Thanks," Mileena says after the pain has disappeared.

Ermac chuckles at her. "You still have the pieces of glass stuck in your hands and arms." He hands her metal tweezers. "They shouldn't be too hard to get out," He says and exits to a different room.

"Thank you." Mileena mumbles to herself and places the tip of the tweezers against her skin. She begins getting out the glass from her hands then her arms. It wasn't as painful as the burns or the cauterizing.

Ermac walks back into the main room with a small radio in his hand. "I was able to find a small military radio in here, so I will try to contact Earthrealm Special Forces for medical assistance. But I'm not quite sure how you use this thing..." Mileena sits up and nods her head at him. Now that Mileena isn't in severe pain she can finally take a look at the shelter. The walls are painted white and have millions of ridges. The floors are made of hardwood with a beautiful glossy finish. There is a small kitchen in the corner of the room, closest to the door. It has white granite countertops, black marble backsplash, white wooden cabinets, a sink, refrigerator, and an electric stove. Beside the kitchen is a small four person dining table. There is a large desk on the other side of the room where Ermac is standing. As well as, five doors that most likely lead to bathrooms and bedrooms.

Ermac spends the next ten minutes messing with the buttons on the radio in search of a signal, but there is nothing but static. Mileena lets out a groan of annoyance.

"Give it to me." Mileena demands. He hands the radio off to her sits down in one of the dining chairs. Mileena fiddles with the different knobs and buttons on the radio trying to get something other than static. But, even after twenty minutes of trying she gets nothing.

Ermac sighs from his seat. "I guess we aren't advanced enough to understand modern technology." Mileena lightly chuckles at his attempt to be funny.

"Can you believe our home is gone?" Ermac randomly says.

"I can't believe it either," Mileena responds, now feeling the sorrow from the recent events. "Why would the Netherrealm invade us? We have done nothing to them..."

"I have the same questions," Ermac answers relaxing back into the chair.

"They murdered my people and destroyed my realm. I don't even know if anyone survived the invasion." Mileena runs her fingers through her hair and lets a few tears escape from her eyes.

"I have an idea..." Ermac stands from his chair and walks over to the military radio. "I will go outside to analysis the destruction of Outworld and look for any survivors. Also, I can try to see if we can get a better signal out there."

"Just be careful. I don't need anyone else dying on me." Mileena wipes away her tears and sadly smiles at him. At Mileena's order, the tarkatans unlatch the steel door and let Ermac exit.

A two hours pass and Mileena begins to worry. Not to mention, Mileena's condition has become worse. She has been experiencing chest pains and dizziness, as well as shallow breathing. The two guards have attempted to calm her down but have had no luck in doing so. Black spots start to cloud Mileena's vision before she falls unconscious. The guards stand around Mileena not knowing what to do with her. They check her neck and wrist for a pulse and find that it's rapid but frail. Her skin had become pale, yet cool and sweat is still glistening on her skin.

Moments later the door bursts open with a group of Special Ops and Ermac following behind.

"Empress!? What happen to her?" Ermac asks, walking over to the guards. They both shake their heads and move out of the way. "Will your team be able to treat her?"

A woman with a long blond braid approaches Mileena's body. She wears a simple black hat with the Special Forces logo on it. Along with a black, long sleeved, leather collared jacket and matching pants and boots. She wears her dog tags and has an assortment of weapons attached to her belt. She also has black gauntlets fastened around her wrists.

"We will immediately take her back to the Shiri Ryu temple to treat her wounds. " The woman speaks; straightaway her team grabs Mileena and cautiously carries her out of the bomb shelter.

They make their way through the rubble of the destroyed realm to the helicopters waiting outside. They put Mileena into an emergency helicopter and fly off as soon as possible. One of the paramedics that were aboard the aircraft said that she most likely fell into shock from a bloodstream infection caused by bacteria getting into the burns.

On the way to the temple, Mileena's stab wound had opened up and soaked her shirt. It took the paramedics awhile to control the bleeding, but they eventually got it. Several helicopters follow behind them with survivors from the invasion. The Shirai Ryu clan found out about the attack and allied with Special Forces to help protect and shelter survivors. More than half of the population of Outworld had been wiped out. The whole realm had been blown to smithereens, leaving nothing but debris and carcasses of the fallen warriors and citizens.


	2. Chapter 1

Hanzo Hasashi's P.O.V-

Takeda and Forrest Fox stand feet away from each other and assume their fighting stances.

"Fight!" I yell, crossing my arms over my chest and taking a few steps behind me.

Fox leaps into the air and goes in for a flying kick. Takeda swiftly dodges the attack and stands behind him, apparently not taking the fight seriously. Fox then attempts to punch Takeda in the face but is unable to do so when Takeda moves away to distract his opponent. Much to my surprise, Takeda finally hits Fox in the stomach and sends him falling to the ground. Fox quickly reaches his arm out and clings to the collar of Takeda's tunic, stabilizes himself and puts Takeda in a headlock.

"Tap out or pass out," Fox says, tightening his hold on his neck. Takeda struggles in Fox's grip but later slams his head back on his nose. Even the blood flowing from Fox's nose isn't enough to make him let go of Takeda. "Submit!" Fox yells in Takeda's ear.

"Enough. Fox wins." I angrily say, feeling disappointed by Takeda's efforts. Fox releases Takeda and holds his bloody nose.

"Finally got me back for the nose," He says, lightly chuckling. Probably from remembering the memory of their first fight together. Takeda kneels on the ground and gently rubs his neck.

"Such a big target, I can't believe it took me so long." Takeda states and looks up at Fox. I stride towards him with my arms still crossed over my chest.

"Are you proud of losing, Takeda?" I ask.

"No, Grandmaster I did my best," Takeda answered, looking down at his feet.

"Your best? Feinting instead of countering?" I can't believe what I'm hearing! He was playing around with his opponent, throwing fake punches and dodging when he had the perfect opportunity to strike.

"But did you see how fast I was?" Takeda utters looking into my angry gaze.

"You're faster than him; that's true. But instead of using that advantage to strike at your first opportunity, you played around." I say, probably yelling at him by now. "If you won't train like a warrior, we'll carry you into the wild and let Mother Nature test your skills. Out there, playing around will get you killed!"

"Respectfully Grandmaster, in a survival sit-"Fox begins to say, but gets interrupted by an approaching figure. I turn to see Cassie Cage, who now stands between Fox and Takeda.

"Sorry boys, but I'm going to have to steal Master Hasashi." Cassie Cage says sand blows a bubble with her gum.

"What is it Cage!?" I yell, trying to show that I'm annoyed and outraged at the moment.

Cassie pops the bubble she made. "I've been requested to gather everyone for a conference about recent information regarding the war." She confidently says, being unfazed by my tone of voice.

"Very well..." I sigh and follow her to a small group of people outside the Special Forces tents, which consist of Johnny Cage, Jacqui Briggs, Jax Briggs, Cassie Cage and I.

"I just received word from Sonya about the condition of Outworld." Johnny Cage announces and walks into the enormous tent behind him. We all follow him into the tent to be met with many computers and different types of technology. "See this?" He says, pointing to one of the large monitors with tracking software on it. "We sent helicopters and air crafts out to gather any survivors so that they could be brought back here for safety."

"Was the attack that bad?" Cassie asks with a hint of concern in her voice.

"The whole realm is pretty much gone," Johnny responds before walking to the exit. "That's why we teamed up with the Shiri Ryu..." Johnny Cage pauses and looks at me. A small smirk appears on his face. It's the same smirk that always crosses his face before he says something witty."We're happy to help kick those monsters bony ass's back to the Netherealm."

Whoomp there it is...

Johnny starts to walk out of the tent but stops in his path. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot, stupid me..." He trails off and turns around to face everyone. "We are having a very special guest stay with us." We all stare at Johnny with confusion in our faces.

"What do you mean 'special guest'?" Jacqui asks, taking a few steps forward.

Again, a small smirk forms on Johnny Cage's face. "We are having the Empress of Outworld stay with us. She is in critical condition and requires our aid."

"So? I don't understand the big deal... We give her medical attention and provide her with shelter." Jacqui replies and crosses her hands over her chest.

"Remember when I said she was in critical condition? She is on the verge of dying from going into Septic shock. And I don't know if any of you has received a medical lesson, but it can lead to organ failure and death if not treated immediately. More importantly, it's not good because she is an immensely prime part of this war and is one of the few targets of the Netherealm."Johnny says, actually sounding smart for once.

"Oh, please! We all know that you could never think of a smart answer like that. You probably asked Sonya the same stupid questions and just repeated what she told you to us." Jax says, calling out Johnny. We all start laughing at Jax's joke because it's probably right. I guess I spoke too soon...

"Why do you guys have to be such-" Johnny starts to say, but stops at the sound of landing helicopters. "That's our cue." Johnny walks out of the tent with us following behind to Sonya, who is exiting the first helicopter.

"Sergeant Cage, I need you and Jacqui to go into that helicopter and help the doctors get the Empress to a medical room." Sonya demands, pointing to the aircraft she exited from. Both girls go in and come out with a female body on a foldable stretcher. The woman appears to have several serve burns, a stab wound, and minor cuts.

"Holy shit..." Jax mumbles and runs over to the other helicopters along with Johnny.

I decide that I should return to Takeda and Fox to finish my lecture, also their needed training. After all, this practical situation isn't technically my business to deal with. I only agreed to provide protection and shelter.

"Master Hasashi."Sonya calls out to me, jogging over to me.

"General," I say and bow before her.

"You know of the empress's condition, correct?" General Blade says and places a hand on her hip. I nod my head at her in response. "Great, and then I'm guessing you wouldn't mind doing me a favor."

"What kind of favor?" I say with a stern face. What possibly could she want? I've done my part, and I don't need to go beyond that.

"Well, the Special Forces can't always be here to help protect the Empress while she stays in the Shiri Ryu temple. After all, we do have a war to win... So, I need to act as a bodyguard for her." A bodyguard? She can fend for herself, and I have no reason to protect her. And like I said, I've done my part and have no type to protect anyone else other than my clan.

"Please, we would be very grateful if you could do this for us." General Blade says, attempting to win me over. I look around at my surroundings, trying to ignore her gaze. I watch as the Shiri Ryu has stopped training to help get everyone out of both the helicopters and various types of air crafts. My clan only wants to help. We wore ourselves to Earthrealms protection, but not to Outworld. But, if we don't help out Outworld then the Netherealm will attack Earthrealm. It's wrong for me to be selfish and I guess it won't hurt to do a simple favor.

I let out a long sigh before giving her my answer. I know for sure I won't win this one.

"Fine, I'll do it."


	3. Chapter 2

Mileena P.O.V-

I follow Baraka and Ermac out into the deep forest to speak with members of Outworld council. The Tarkatan guards cut through the overgrowth of the forest with their blades while others trail behind us. The guards stop and circle a small group of people once we reach a bright spot. Even though I am half Tarkatan, my senses are much weaker, therefore making it difficult to identify who I am approaching in this dark landscape. I squint my eyes trying to get a glimpse of the three figures that stand before me, but once the moonlight hits them, I know exactly who they are.

D'Vorah, Reptile, and Ko'atal. As I like to call them, the buzzing gnat, the lizard, and the Osh-Tekk fool.

"Ah, there they are. Three of your fellow Councilors, whispering like handmaidens. About what, I wonder..." I say to Ermac and Baraka, placing my hand on my hip and tilting my head to imitate the others. Ko'atal takes a few steps closer to me.

"If only you would hear our counsel. As war with Netherrealm loom, I have urged détente with Earthreealm." He says.

"And I've told you I would sooner die than treat with my father's murderers!" I respond, anger rising in my voice.

"You refuse practical solutions to credible threats. You endanger the realm."

"And sedition does not? Speak your last, before I have your tongue." I threaten, clasping my fist at him. Reptile growls at my respond and steps forward, pointing his finger at me.

"You are not Shao Kahn's true heir! She is a construct; formed in Shang Tsung's Flesh Pits. I saw this. Your best claim to the throne is moot." He waves me off with his hand.

I step closer to reptile and point my finger at him like he did to me. "How dare you! I succeed Shao Kahn by his decree!"

"Succeed him you have. But Outworld demands new leadership." Ko'atal says, standing up straight and crossing his hands behind his back.

My eyes scan Ko'atal up and down in disgust. "From you?" I pause to keep myself from laughing. He is not fit to rule my father's realm. Me being created by sorcery means nothing. I am still Shao Kahn's daughter; his heir to be exact. "Osh-tekk fool!" I finish and look over at Baraka.

"Kill him!" I order.

Baraka unquestioningly lunges to stab him but is blocked by D'Vorah.

"This one serves Mileena no longer!" She yells and punches Baraka across the face while the Tarkatan guards spring to attack Ko'atal and Reptile.

I left out a small growl and turned towards Ermac, who just stands there. "You will defend your, Empress!" I yell at him.

"Our creator, Shao Kahn, is dead. We will serve whom we choose." Ermac says and lunges to attack me.

I wake up breathing heavy and sweating. I look around. I am lying in a bed that has me laid at an upward angle. There are a bunch of strange devices around my bed, a needle connected to a tube in my hand, and a large mask covering my mouth and nose. I start to panic from not knowing where I am and what's going on. One of the devices goes off and begins to make an annoying beeping sound. Immediately, a man in a white coat and an unfamiliar man and woman walk in through the door and stand next to my bedside. The man in the coat starts to fiddle with the different devices while the other two stare at me.

The man in the coat takes off the mask on my face. "Are you alright, Mileena?" He asks me. I stare at him with wide eyes as I try to catch my breath.

"I think... I just... had... a...nightmare." I say and pause in between every few words to catch my breath.

"Ah, yes, that would explain why your heart beat increased," He says.

"My what- who are you people?" I ask and stare at them.

Why the hell am I here!

"Mileena, I am Doctor Anderson, they are General Blade and Master Hasashi. I will be caring for you while you are under medical care." Doctor Anderson says and points to each person in the room. I continue to stare at him waiting for more information.

"Mileena, do you remember anything from the attack?" General Blade cuts in and asks me. Do I remember anything from the assault? The attack on my realm! The one that killed off half the population and my mighty army! Of course, I remember... My face twists with rage at the memories.

"Of course, I remember, but why does that matter? I want to know why I'm here! Like this!" I yell and motion at my body with my hands.

"You are here because you were injured. Serious burns that became infected which caused you to go into Septic Shock. It is a very deadly medical condition that needed to be treated immediately, so General Blade and her team brought you here to the Shiri Ryu Temple." Doctor Anderson responds quite calmly as if this whole situation is nothing.

"I need to leave." I mutter and attempt to swing my legs over the side of the bed, but get stopped by Master Hasashi holding my legs down. I tense up at his touch.

General Blade cuts in when she sees this happen. "This is Hanzo Hasashi, the Grandmaster of the Shiri Ryu. My team and I are concerned that you are a target of this war or just Outworld citizens. So, I have assigned Master Hasashi to protect you and be your bodyguard." She tells me. I take this time to look at Hanzo, who is now my new bodyguard. I won't lie; he is a quite handsome man. He looks to be very muscular and most likely an amazing fighter, but he does give off vibes that he's a very closed off person. And I don't see why he needs to watch over me. I can understand why they would think I need protection, especially with this big war thing going on, but I'm not weak, and I know how to handle myself. I don't need to be treated like a little girl.

"No, I don't thin-"I start to protest, but get cut off my General Blade.

"That was not a choice it was an order." General Blade sternly says. I send her a small glare and turn towards Doctor Anderson, who is adjusting a pole with a bag of water connected to it.

"Now Mileena, you will probably be in here for another few days until we decide you are stable enough to be released, but until then I will be injecting with a particular type of medication that will help speed up your recovery." He says, grabbing my hand. I immediately move my arm away from his touch. His fingers are cold and dry as a witch's.

"It doesn't hurt; it will just put you asleep for a few days," He says, grabbing my hand and putting the medication in the device connected to my arm. I can feel the serum in my blood. Whatever it is, it's making me lightheaded, maybe drowsy at the same time. It's making my eyelids feel heavy and my body as light as a feather. I lay my head back on the pillow and sink into my bed.

"We will see you in a few days." General Blades says, her voice trailing off towards the end.

I just close my eyes and let sleep consume me.


	4. Chapter 3

With every passing minute, my sleepy mind notices a strange sound of shuffling around me. I slowly try to lift my eyelids to see what the sound could be, but my eyes feel like they have been glued shut. So, instead I try to move my head to meet with the sound, but even that doesn't work. I couldn't feel myself move, and I wasn't even sure if I was, but my muscles feel stiff and sore like I've been running a marathon. And my eyes feel heavy like a great force was purposely holding them down. Even though I couldn't feel my body move I could feel the fuzzy blanket, or at least I'm assuming it's a blanket, that is wrapped around me. It made my body feel warm; a feeling that I haven't felt for a long time. It made me feel like I'm in a butterfly's cocoon and that in time I would pop out and be perfectly fine. And that there would be a new me, the person I always wanted to be. A better me.

It took me moments to realize that there was light penetrating my eyelids. And by now they were starting to open. The light is bright, and my eyes are starting to fight back. I can feel the crusties that were around my eyes poke at my eyeball, giving me even more reason not to open my eyes right now. But I need to. I'm too curious about what that sound is. I squirted through the light until my vision was becoming clear. And by now I was starting to smell something. It wasn't the anti-bacterial cleaner smell anymore; it is a sweet smell. I don't know how else to put it. It just smells fresh.

My eyes finally opened enough for me to see around me. They still felt quite droopy, but I'm thankful to at least have them open, even if I can only see blobs of color at the moment. It makes sense as to why my eyes are like this right now. I feel like I've been asleep for years, just like that woman in the old Outworld fairytales, but I'm still tired and not immediately alive and awake like she was after she woke up from her deep sleep. And I sure as hell don't have a Prince Charming.

I looked around me to the best of my ability. I can feel something behind my back, propping me up, so I can see more than just the ceiling. I'm in bed it seemed, and the room was flawlessly lit. Beams of light from the window are reflecting off the bright walls, making me want to close my eyes again. The walls are a bright yellow color, and the furniture was a dark brown color, making a perfect contrast of colors in the room. I heard the shuffling sound again and immediately darted my eyes towards it. I quickly blinked my eyes a few time to get rid of the fog clouding my vision. I saw a young man standing by the dresser with his back towards me. I have no clue who this man is, nor what he is doing. He just kept moving from one side of the room to the other placing things in and on the dresser. I tried to bring my whole lower back up, but I just got the same result as before. I tried to make as much noise with my body to get his attention; obviously, he is too busy with organizing strange objects. I thought that maybe he would be able to help me or explain to me what is going on.

Minutes went by before I tried to open my mouth to say something and ultimately end up releasing a raspy noise. But I watch him. I see him turn around after hearing me make that harsh sound. I stared at his face and quickly analysis it. He has shaggy black hair and brown eyes and wears a yellow headband with the Shirai Ryu symbol on it.

"Mileena?" He said smiling at me.

I continue to keep my eyes focused on him as he approaches, watching his every move to make sure he doesn't try anything. "It's good to see you awake again. I tried to introduce myself last time, but you fell asleep on me." He pulls up a chair next to the left side of my bed.

I attempt to talk but my 'what' comes out a little rough. My voice sounds like a monster because of how rough it is right now.

"You don't remember, do you?" Takeda says, staring at me. I tried my best to shake my head in response, but because of how sore my body still is, it didn't work out very well. "Eh, that's okay. You were in and out multiple times for the past few days. The doctor said that was common for patients that went into a medically induced coma."

"What?" I repeated.

"We put you in an induced coma to help protect your vital organs and make it easier to heal you from your Septic Shock episode. So, for the past serval days, you have been slowly coming back from the coma because the doctors took you off the medication." He said and slumped into his chair.

"Are you like my nurse or something?" I asked.

"Nope, I'm just someone that lives here." He crossed his arms over his chest and made a serious expression wash over his face, "I'm Takeda." He stated.

"Taquito?" I asked. I don't know why but I swear I heard him say his name was Taquito.

"Um, Taquito?" He says. I can see that he is trying to contain a smile, "my names Ta-ke-da." And with that, my prediction was right. His serious face breaks and a large smile appears on his face, but also a loud laugh. I could feel my cheeks getting hot.

"Sorry," I said my face full of embarrassment, which is an emotion I usually never get.

"Hey, that's alright I kind of liked it." His smile turned into a smirk, and he let out a slight chuckle, "How about I let you call me 'Taquito' only, and I mean only if you let me call you Milly." I stared at him. I've never had anyone make a nickname for me. Everyone either called me Mileena, Empress, or Kahnum. "I mean it would fit with our new found friendship." He continued.

"Friendship? I barely even know you." I said, slightly glaring at him. Friendship? With an Earthrealmer? Absolutely not.

"Hey, no need to be so hostile. I'm only trying to be friendly here. You seem like a pretty chill person, so I just thought you and I could become friends." At this response, I use all my might inside of me to bring my upper body to sit up, so I can get a better look at him and his stupid face. I don't need friendship, especially one with someone who is associated with my father's murders.

"I'm not into friendships with my father's murders." My jaw begins to tighten.

Takeda lets out an annoyed sigh. "I'm not one of your father's murders and no one here killed him. And even if his "murders" were here your dad did horrible things." My glare intensifies.

"Fine, I just don't like Earthrealmers," I say through my gridded teeth.

"Well for someone who doesn't like Earthrealmers they sure as hell don't mind being hospitalized by a bunch of them."

"I'm pretty sure I never asked for Earthrealm's help. And I can assure you I never asked for any of this! I never asked to be like this!" I counter back, my frail voice getting as loud as possible. Immediately after I freeze at the realization of what I said. I look at Takeda, who is staring at me with a facial expression similar to my own. I collect my thoughts and avert my eyes from Takeda. I didn't mean to say all that. I guess I just had so much anger bottled up.

"I'm sorry," I pause, searching for what to say next, "I didn't mean to say all of that."

"No, Mileena, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that especially the thing about your father." Takeda apologized.

"We were both at fault, Taquito," I smile at him, knowing that calling him Taquito will make him happy. It's probably better if he and I are on good terms, so I should try to get along. He returned the gesture and began to chuckle. I stared at him and couldn't help but let a smile appear on my face. His laugh is contagious.

"We aren't even friends, but we sure were fighting like some."

I don't say anything.

"That sounded a lot funnier in my head." Takeda paused and gazed up at me, abruptly got up from his chair, walked over to the other side of my bed, placed one arm under my thighs and the other behind my back.

"What are you doing?" I questioned, moving my sore arms closer to my chest, trying to keep him from touching me.

"I have an idea." He said and watched for me to respond. I continued to stare at him, not exactly understanding the importance of this. "Don't worry I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." He continues and gently picks me up. Takeda carefully shifted my weight in his arms and made his way to the other side of the room, where he placed me in a wheelchair that was hiding in the corner. "I'm not allowed to do this, but I thought now that you have been awake for more than ten minutes that you would like some fresh air."

"Now isn't that sweet of you." I adjust myself in the chair, letting out a small groan from my sore bones, and turn my head to look at him. "Where are we going?"

Takeda started to move the wheelchair. "In honor of our new found friendship, "I cut him off.

"I never said we are friends," I say, giving my most mischievous smirk.

"Stop being so salty Milly." He responds, "We are going to my favorite area of the Shirai Ryu."I scoff at him from using that stupid nickname.

"I'm not salty."

"Whatever you say, Mileena," Takeda says in a high-pitched mocking tone.

Takeda wheeled me around the Shirai Ryu for hours, occasionally hiding behind the stone housing units to keep us from getting caught. And I have to say; the Shirai Ryu is quite beautiful with large contemporary walkways, Himalayan Spindle trees, perfectly landscaped land, along with a magnificent view of the Himalayan Mountains. Once we reached an unfinished sidewalk, Takeda stops and walks in front of me.

"Do you think you can walk by yourself or,"Takeda started.

I cut him off before he could finish, "I can walk. It's been hours since I woke up." I stated. Takeda put his hands up in surrender.

"I'm sorry." Takeda moved out of the way and let me have space to get out. I went on to stretch my legs and roll my ankles before attempting to get up. I know I shouldn't have any problems with walking if I take my time getting used to it again. At least that's what I hope.

"Come on, Milly, let's go. I don't have all day." Takeda says and attempts to help me out. I slap his hands away.

I can get myself out. I don't need help doing a simple task.

I slowly use my legs bring my upper body out of the seat and rotate my body, so my front is facing the wheelchair. I hold on to the armrests to make sure I don't fall and wait until I've regained my balance. Takeda walks back over to me and wraps my arm around his neck, and places his left arm at my hip

"I can do this myself," I say and try to separate myself from him. He ignores me and holds onto me tighter, keeping me from moving.

We started to walk up a hill, with Takeda supporting me as we went, to a place that is apparently breathtaking and peaceful. There were no problems other than us walking very slowly, but when we got to a steep part of the hill, where my body started to get sore, and which caused me to need Takeda to carry me. While halfway up the steep hill his steps began to get shorter, and his shortness of breath became more evident.

"Takeda, you good?" I ask.

"It-it's just a little further." He breathily said, obviously showing he is exhausted from carrying me up the hill.

"What's wrong? Am I too fat for you?" I tease.

"Carrying you is like carrying an elephant." I let out a laugh at his comment but playfully backhand him in the throat. He lets out this strange croaking sound and loses his balance. He stumbles around for a few seconds until he regains his balance. I couldn't help but laugh at him.

"What was that for?"

"Talk shit, get hit." I pause and look up at his throat. There is a large red puffy mark from where I hit him. I know it's horrible of me to do this, but I couldn't help letting out the laugh I was trying to contain. His reaction to the hit was hilarious. And just looking at the mark made me remember what went on only a matter of seconds ago. "Oh, and I think calling me fat might have damaged our friendship." I continued and waited for Takeda to respond. We both continued to stare ahead, and I'm not sure why. My comment was nothing bad, but there was still an awkward silence between us.

"I thought you said we would never be friends." He said out of the blue. And before I could respond back he abruptly stopped walking once we made it to a flat area. He quickly placed me on my feet, wrapped my right arm around his neck, and rested his left hand on my hip.

"Fox!" I hear Takeda yell out which startles me. I look up from the ground expecting to see a fox, but instead of an animal, I saw a young boy, probably the same age as Takeda. He is sitting on a wooden bench beside a small river. I'm not sure where we are, all I know is that this is Takeda's favorite place in the Shirai Ryu territory. The river is fenced in by a bunch of trees. Grass covers every inch of the ground along with various types of shrubs. And the sun perfectly shines through the leaves of the trees to making the water sparkle.

"Aye, Takeda!" The boy sitting on the bench yells out. Takeda starts to walk towards the boy, with my arm still connected to him, giving me no chose but to follow him. As we walk boy closer, I get a chance to study his appearance. Unlike Takeda, his skin is dark and has short black hair, and brown eyes to match. We approach a small wooden bench that sits across from the one that the boy is on. Takeda removes my arm from around his neck.

"Sit," Takeda says. I gently sit on the bench and let my body relax into the chair. Takeda makes his way over to the other bench and stands next to the boy. They do some weird handshake before he sits down. "Mileena, this is Forrest Fox, or you can just call him Fox, Fox you already know Mileena," Fox and I give each other a small smile and wave while Takeda continues "Fox has been my best friend since I got to the Shirai Ryu. And Fox-"

"Correction, best friend and rival." Fox teasingly says. Takeda lets out a scoff.

"As I was saying, Fox, I know you already know about Mileena because of Sonya."

"Yah think," Fox lets out a little chuckle, "Since you got here Sonya has been talking about you none stop, especially about what happen to Outworld."

"By the way, were sorry to hear about what happened." Takeda slowly says. They both stare at my face, looking for something I believe. Saddens, anger, I don't know.

"Were sorry we couldn't stop it," Fox says just as slow as Takeda. What am I supposed to say? Is it okay? Sure, I'm angry and sad, but I don't understand why I need their pity.

"Its fine," I say and let out a long breath that I didn't even know I was holding.

"How are you feeling?" Fox's eyebrows rise as he talks.

"Okay," I respond and gaze off and watch the water. I don't feel up to talking about Outworld or my condition. Not right now. And I'd rather not go off on Fox.

"The doctors and Sonya expected as much. They will probably give you something after they find you're awake now." He says and ends the conversation right there, which I'm quite happy about.

The three of us sat there until the sun started to set talking about the most random of things. Takeda and Fox told me the funniest stories about their training sessions and their Grandmaster, Hanzo who is apparently my bodyguard, and who is doing an awful job at protecting due to the fact nobody knows Takeda snuck me out of that room.

Right now we are currently in the process of teaching me how to skip rocks on the river, which is something I not exactly good at.

"Yeah, you just got to flick your wrist and launch the stone," Takeda says and demonstrates the moments. I grab a rock, adjust my arm to the side, and flick my wrist. The rock flies off and splashes straight down in the water.

"You were so close!" Fox groans and drops down onto the ground. I grab another rock and repeat the steps. Takeda sits down next to Fox and looks up at the sun.

"What time is it?" Takeda asks, still staring up at the sun.

"Not sure. I don't have a clock on me, but I'm guessing it's around 7 o'clock because the sun is starting to set." Fox responds, also looking up at the sun. At Fox's response, Takeda jumps up from the ground, muttering a bunch of curse words to himself. I stop skipping rocks and turn around.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"We got to go, right now or else Hanzo and Sonya are going to kill us!" Takeda's yells and turns around, showing his completely pale face. Fox stares at me then back at Takeda with wide eyes. I watch as the blood also drains from his face. "Mileena, can you run?" I shake my head and watch as Takeda starts to panic. Takeda swiftly runs over to me and picks me up, throwing me over his shoulder, and starting to run with Fox following behind.


	5. Chapter 4

Hanzo's P.O.V-

"What do you mean she's not here?" Sonya asks, practically yelling at me. "How the hell do you lose someone who was in a coma a few hours ago?"

"She just not here." I have no idea what she wants me to say. When I came to check up on Mileena after Sonya told me to, the bed was empty, and there was no sign of her.

At this point, she is pacing around the room, running her hands through her hair.

"I understand you're frustrated but what do you expect me to do? Pull her out of thin air?" I say. Sonya stops pacing and faces me.

"Yes! That's exactly what I want you to do, and while you're at it, maybe you should tell everyone that Mileena is missing instead of standing here being a smart ass." Sonya pauses and lets out a long sigh, "Go get Fox and Takeda and ask them to help you. I'll get the others." She walks out of the room, leaving me before I'm able to respond.

I left the room and looked everywhere in the Shirai Ryu for the boys. I looked in the temple, in their room, and by the Special Forces tents and I still couldn't find them. On top of the fact that Mileena is missing, Takeda and Fox are as well. And I have to attempt, I'm worried about Takeda and Fox but mostly Takeda. I promised Kenshi that I would look after Takeda and I would hate if something bad happened.

I made my way down the stone pathway to the wooden door. I opened it to find everyone standing around. I search the room and my eyes land on Sonya. She looks behind me, searching for Takeda and Fox. When she notices that they are absent, she looks at me, and I swear her eyes go cold.

"Where are they?" Sonya asks, stepping closer, with her eyes still focused on me. I walked to the other side of the room, trying to get away from her gaze.

"I couldn't find them." I respond. I watch as Sonya's face begins to turn red and her hands turn into fists

"Hanzo, I swear to the Elder Gods, I will punch the- "Sonya begins to say but gets cut off by the sound of the door opening.

I turn to see Takeda with Mileena over his shoulder and Fox behind him. Takeda and I make eye contact, and I watch as his face drops and all the color drains from his face. Fox peers out from behind him and has the same expression. I turn and look at Sonya and everyone else and see that they are just as confused as me.

"Hey, guys..." Takeda says slowly. He steps away from the door and over to an empty chair by the bed. He carefully removes Mileena from his shoulder and places her in the chair. I keep my eyes on Mileena and notice that even with her hair messy and wrapped around her face that there is blood dripping from her nose.

"Takeda, what's going on?" Sonya asks. She walks over to Mileena and removes her hair from her face. Mileena quickly covers her nose but forgets that her hands are bloody as well.

"Uh," Takeda shutters out.

Sonya tells Cassie to get some tissues and instructs Mileena to lean forward and hold her nose to clot the blood. In the midst of all this happening, I keep my eyes steadied on Takeda. His face is still flushed, and his hands are shaking. By the way, he is acting; I can tell he's hiding something.

"Takeda," I say, my voice stern. "What is going on?" I keep my eyes fixed on him, making sure they are like daggers. He looks at the ground and doesn't answer me. I inch myself closer to him, knowing that intimidation is the only way I will get him to crack. "Do not make me ask again, Takeda."

Takeda lets out a shaky breath and tilts his head up, looking at me. "I was just trying to be friendly."

"What?" Sonya chimes into the conversion.

"I was in Mileena's room when she woke up... We talked for a little bit, and then I took her on a tour around the Shirai Ryu." Takeda quietly responds.

"You took someone who was just in a coma around for a tour? Are you fu- "

Mileena cuts Sonya off, "It's alright," Mileena sits up and removes the bloody tissues from her nose, revealing that the blood has clotted, "There's no reason to yell at Takeda. He was just being friendly, and honestly, it worked." She smiles at Takeda. "I had fun."

"Okay, but why was her nose bleeding?" A voice utters from across the room. I look over and see that it came from Jacqui.

"Well I know that every day around sunset Sonya or Hanzo come in and check on Mileena and I hadn't returned Mileena to her room, I panicked and threw Mileena over my shoulder and started to run down the hill. And while I was running, her head slammed into my back." Takeda responds.

The room stays silent for a few moments until Sonya speaks up.

"Well, let's have the doctor come in and make sure Mileena's head is okay and then have her rest." She says, walking over to the door. She changes her direction and comes over to me. "Takeda and Fox are not my responsibility so can you deal with them? And I swear to the Elder Gods if they pull a stunt like this again it's all going to be on you. Alright?"

"Alright." I say firmly. I walk over to Takeda and Fox, grip their collars with my hands, and drag them out of the room.


End file.
